A number of furniture designs have been proposed for seating units which have cushions removably secured to their frames for use in public areas, institutions, etc. Soil and damage to upholstery are major considerations with respect to such furniture pieces. Manufacturers of such furniture often limit, as much as possible, the use of upholstery in such furniture. However, fully upholstered furniture is desirable for a number of other reasons, including aesthetics.
A wide variety of upholstered seating units of knock-down type construction have been designed. Such units may be assembled for use and usually disassembled thereafter, if desired. The upholstered components of such units are thus often removable for cleaning or replacement. With the exception of their upholstered cushions, however, knock-down furniture designs typically lack easily removable mounting, reversibility or interchangeability of the upholstered pieces. They also typically lack a capability to secure the cushions of such units to their frames or to positively lock any of the upholstered pieces to the frame to prevent their disassembly by unauthorized personnel. The lack of these characteristics limits the usefulness of knockdown furniture in public and institutional settings.